How exactly are we going to do this??

When parents are presented with treatment options in our clinic, one of the final things that we discuss is how we’re going to do treatment. There are many factors to consider in this conversation, and the staff at Avenue PD strive to deliver care in a way that meets parents’ expectation and, of equal importance, the child’s needs.

At Avenue PD, we typically book treatment in one of three ways:

In the dental chair with freezing (local anesthesia), or

In the dental chair with laughing gas (nitrous oxide sedation) and freezing combined, or

Under general anesthesia where the child is asleep under the care of a board certified medical anesthesiologist.

It is important to be realistic when planning how things are going to proceed. Dr. Perusini emphasizes the following points to help guide the discussion, and to ensure the best course of action:

Age – in younger children, dental treatment with freezing alone can be quite traumatic. Fortunately, children develop coping skills with age, which can positively impact treatment outcomes.

Development – some individuals might find treatment in the chair challenging due to a lack of psychological or emotional maturity and/or mental, physical, or medical disability.

Amount of Treatment – exactly how many teeth need to be fixed? In the office, Dr. Perusini will typically do one corner of the mouth per appointment to minimize the length of the visit (children often do better with short and easy). Also, Dr. Perusini wants to ensure that he is using a good volume of dental freezing to maximize comfort in one corner without over-medicating, or minimizing the freezing’s effectiveness in multiple corners.

Procedure – restorative dentistry and minor oral surgery often require that a child be perfectly still during the procedure. This can sometimes be challenging for a child depending on her or his age, anxiety or emotional development.

Infection – depending on the severity of a dental infection, freezing alone may not be sufficient to guarantee the child’s comfort during the procedure.

Dr. Perusini and the staff at Avenue PD recognize that each child is unique, and what works for one may be inappropriate for another. We take great pride in building relationships with our families to better understand their needs and expectations.